


(nobody but us) in this paradise

by cherrychoke



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: (of 6 years), (the romantic kind not the illegal one), Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Oblivious Yixing, Some Plot, confessing, romantic dates but one of them doesn't want to admit it's kind of a romantic one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:27:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25932862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrychoke/pseuds/cherrychoke
Summary: [Painting #4]Yixing supposes there is nothing 'average' about his life - since he has a sugar baby and all that. But thingscanget interesting, he learns (even if he's oblivious to them at first).
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Comments: 18
Kudos: 70
Collections: 1001 Tales: Suho/Lay Fic Fest Round 3





	(nobody but us) in this paradise

**Author's Note:**

> to everyone: i hope you'll enjoy this!! ;;;  
> to the prompter: thank you so much for this lovely prompt i enjoyed writing this so much!!! (also im sorry for the implied-ness of the smut, i hope you'll like it anyway <3)  
> to the mods: thank you so much for another lovely round i'm glad i could be a part of this!!!! <3
> 
> thank you to my lovely beta z for going through this pile of mess and making it not-mess!!! <3
> 
> (working title for this was "nice, with a little bit of spice" so you know what's up here lol)

Junmyeon is something fun, a break from every stupid meeting Yixing needs to attend because of his perfectionist tendencies. He was skeptical of nearly all sugar babies on the website, despite his friends telling him that he should give them a chance before concluding that they won’t be a match. He did that once, went out on a date with one of them, and he was right: he didn’t like it. He was (and still is) very good at reading people through their profiles.

He wasn’t entirely sure of Junmyeon in the beginning either, and yet here they are.

_“How was your day?”_

Yixing looks up from his now clean stomach. Junmyeon is also cleaning up with tissue paper and the cock ring has been taken off. Yixing is at his luxury apartment, laying on his comfortable bed with the blanket somewhere on the other side, maybe even on the floor. All but the lights near Yixing’s bed are off or dimmed to set the mood, while Junmyeon’s whole room is lit brightly.

“I already told you,” Yixing laughs. “It was fine, nothing disastrous on the company’s side.”

 _“I know that,”_ Junmyeon moves the camera so it shows his cute face. Yixing wants to kiss him all over. _“I meant for you. Mentally, physically.”_

“It’s a lot better now,” Yixing grins. He glances at the little box with his face on it, surprising himself with how good Junmyeon can see him even with dull lighting. “Seeing your cute face and your dick.”

Junmyeon preens at that, cups his lovely cheeks and squishes them. _“You’re welcome!”_

Yixing stares at him with a dumb smile, looking at the way Junmyeon’s cheeks become obviously pink even through thescreen. The video is high quality, the wi-fi at top speed, and Junmyeon looks amazing with the fluffy blanket pooling near his thighs. If only Yixing could fly to Seoul right now and fuck him into the matching sheets and blanket.

As if just to ruin his little daydream, Yixing’s laptop chimes with a notification about three new emails. He notices the way Junmyeon’s little smile turns into a frown instantly.

 _“Work?”_ He asks.

Yixing hums.

 _“Oh! I almost forgot to open the gift you sent me~”_ Junmyeon chimes. He reaches over the laptop and grabs his boxers first. He looks at Yixing with an amused smile. _“Are you going to work naked, ge?”_

“Do you want me to?” Yixing teases. Junmyeon lets out a gasp, followed by a whiny ‘ _you wouldn’t~_ ’ while Yixing searches for his boxers. He probably should take his laptop to his desk too. He finds his boxers at the foot of his night stand and wears them out of view from the camera.

 _“Where are you?”_ Junmyeon asks, voice sill adorably whiny. _“I want to see you get dressed up~”_

“I’m just wearing sweatpants,” Yixing laughs. “How come you’re so horny today, Junmyeonie?”

_“I miss you a lot. We’ve barely called this past week.”_

“I know, baby.” After tugging the sweatpants over his hips, Yixing grabs his laptop from the bed and places it on his work desk. Junmyeon is sulking as he waits, the little purple box Yixing sent next to him. “There were three deadlines this week.”

 _“Am I on your desk?”_ Junmyeon asks. When Yixing nods, Junmyeon looks extremely suggestive — smirks a little. It makes Yixing think just how different Junmyeon is from some people’s sugar babies he’s seen and heard of. He was told to expect shyness from them, at least acting embarrassed about having caught in the middle of a dirty thought. Then again, Junmyeon doesn’t like receiving money, just gifts — and that itself is very different from a regular sugar baby.

“Wouldn’t you like that,” Yixing says before Junmyeon can say anything. He leans back on his chair and opens his email to read them, but all his attention is on his baby who is squirming in place already. “You’ll have to earn it, sweetheart, it’s not for everyone.”

Yixing knows what’s coming next and quickly moves his laptop onto his lap. Junmyeon is a sneaky little bastard, and Yixing loves watching him lose their little banters. 

_“But I’m already on it~”_ Junmyeon coos, wiggling happily.

“You’re on my lap,” Yixing laughs. “I told you, you’ll have to earn it.”

 _“Damn it,”_ Junmyeon scowls, but it doesn’t last very long. _“I’m gonna get laid on that desk one day.”_

“Of course,” Yixing can finally look at the emails. “Do you want to open your gift? Or wait until I’m done with these emails?”

Junmyeon runs his hand through his hair. _“I can wait. I’ll do a little of my assignment until you’re done.”_

“You’re being surprisingly patient today,” Yixing clicks on the email tab, Junmyeon’s face disappearing behind it. “Do you want something, baby?”

Junmyeon snorts. _“Can’t I be good without wanting something, ge?”_

“So you don’t want anything?” Yixing chuckles. He reads half of the email before clicking on the video tab and looks at Junmyeon with an eyebrow raised. “Are you sure?”

 _“If you’re okay with it,”_ Junmyeon mutters. He seems to be working on his assignment, since he’s looking at the screen instead of the camera or where Yixing’s face is likely to be on his screen, just like he said. _“There’s a cute bunny bag.”_

“Bunny bag?” Yixing grins. “Then you’ve got to have it, don’t you think? Any cute animal seems to be right up your alley.”

Junmyeon looks at a different part of the screen, eyes wide. _“Really?”_

“Of course, baby.” Another package is already on its way to Junmyeon’s house, but maybe he can just send money for this one. “You know I love showering you in gifts.”

 _“I know,”_ Junmyeon glances at him shyly. _“I don’t think it’s available online yet, though. It’s not trendy, so I’m not sure.”_

“I’ll send you money instead, then.” Yixing presses his lips into a thin line as he waits for Junmyeon’s reaction. After a whole year of being ‘together’, Yixing has not once sent just money. It’s always been expensive sneakers, or bags, or clothes, or accessories, or sex toys, or whatever Junmyeon wants or asks for.

 _“No,”_ Junmyeon says, _“I’ll find a website. Or I’ll wait.”_

“Fine.” Yixing rolls his eyes with a smile on his face. He checks up on all of the emails he needs to reply to, replies to two of them, and forwards whatever needs to be put on his calendar to his assistant. 

One of those is an email reminder of his meeting in Korea. It’s a week long set up to establish another branch of Yixing’s company, and that means he gets to spend time with his baby for a whole week. Physically.

“Ooh, baby, I have work in South Korea next month.” He switches to the video tab quickly, and he finds Junmyeon’s eyes go wide in surprise before he squeaks in excitement.

Yixing erupts into laughter when Junmyeon cheers loudly, grinning so wide and happily. He can’t remember the last time someone was so happy just by the idea of meeting him. His assistant is probably tired of him already, and his employees aren’t interested in him unless it affects their paycheck. His family is out of question — they lead their own busy lives, and every meeting is just a delay in their schedules.

 _“How many days?”_ Junmyeon shifts, his whole body visible now. He’s still on his bed, hunched over with his elbows on his knees and his legs crossed. He cups his face with his hands, and it’s the cutest face Yixing has ever seen. He really wants to grab him and smother him in kisses. 

“A week,” Yixing says. When he gets another excited squeak in response, Yixing wants to drop everything and extend it to another week. Maybe he should ask his assistant to do that: stay another week for his baby. He grins when Junmyeon flops onto his side with a huge grin on his face. God, he’s so cute. “You’re making me forget about the annoying meetings I have to attend there.”

 _“I’ll be very upset if we don’t have a week full of dates,”_ Junmyeon huffs after a while. _“A whole week, ge, do you hear me?”_

“I can’t promise anything.” Yixing says, grins like he isn’t blocking two chunks of Personal Time in his schedule.

***

Yixing likes hands on work a lot more than the boring meetings — everyone would, obviously, but the team doing their presentation seem to have completely disregarded his presence in the meeting until he showed up. Maybe that’s why they’re fumbling on their words. They know their presentation is shit and Yixing is too bored to even bring himself to be annoyed.

“Are they done yet?” He whispers to his assistant. She shakes her head and goes back to taking notes. He looks at everyone in the meeting, all looking at the team of four with disapproving frowns, and raises his hand.

The fumbling man shuts his mouth, then stutters. “Yes?”

“I think that’s enough,” He says, as politely as he can manage. “I’d like to discuss this with my team, so please wait in the next room.”

Four of them hurry away, whispering to themselves in panicked tones. 

“That was garbage,” The design team manager speaks up, his frown deeper than before. “And I’m not talking from a design standpoint, sir.”

“I agree,” says their finance manager. She flicks through her own set of notes, then passes it to him. “More loss than profit, all in all. And their contracts are barely professional.”

“They’re still starting out; I wouldn’t expect too much work put into the contracts, but that just means we can add our own,” their lawyer grins. She knows an opportunity when she sees one, and her ways scream diplomatic even when they aren’t.

“I don’t want any deceit,” Yixing warns her, but he’s smiling back at her. “Make everything clear and obvious.”

“Of course.” She borrows the design manager’s notepad and pen. “There won’t be any deceit. We can offer them two deals: one similar to theirs, and the other will be completely ours, but with their help.”

Before he can say anything, his assistant taps his shoulder, whispers to him about his lunch with another company. He sighs. “I like the sound of it, and I trust all of you to make the right decision. Get it to me when you’ve finalized.”

All of them nod in response and Yixing darts out of the room. He’s got enough time left to not be late to the meeting, but he also wants to chat with Junmyeon on his way. He has a notification of Junmyeon’s Instagram having new updates, and three messages from Junmyeon too. 

Junmyeon is studying for his second degree, somehow not tired of studying even after his first one, and this one is just as long as his first. He’s in his third year of his second degree now, and still good at posting on his Instagram semi-regularly with all that workload. When Yixing was 25, he wanted to drop dead from all the internships and full-time work he took upon himself. Now though, he would consider learning more subjects — if he didn’t like sleeping so much.

He checks Instagram first, when they finally get on the elevator, and it’s a really cute picture of Junmyeon: he’s wearing the sneakers which have two little rainbows on each shoe, sitting on a chair with both his legs on the table. He’s holding a takeout cup in his hands, his sunglasses pushed into his hair, and the caption is in Korean and simple: _I’m already gay, time to do some crimes 🗡🗡_

Ever since he became Yixing’s sugar baby, he’s uploaded at least one picture of him using the gift he’s got. Yixing snickers behind his hand. It’s very typical of Junmyeon, and Yixing can’t help but comment: _Keep some swords with you ⚔_ His reply is in Korean too. He might not be taking language level exams like Junmyeon, but he knows his fair share of languages. He’s sure when Junmyeon notices it, he’ll think of something sappy to say during their call.

The messages from Junmyeon are just thanking him with a ridiculous amount of emojis. He replies with a few heart emojis in return, and pockets his phone. The journey to his car is quick, but it becomes exhausting because of the amount of things his assistant tells him. The company he is having lunch with is allergic to way too many things, especially everything which Yixing likes a lot. He also has to remember ordering what kind of dishes will be overselling it or underselling it — he mutters everything to himself.

He glances at his assistant, who is straining her ears to hear him. She looks away quickly when she catches his eye, her ears become pink. “I’m sorry. That was unprofessional of me.”

“It’s a family thing,” Yixing takes a deep breath, trying not to think about how much he wants to run away from the meeting. He smiles politely at her. “Zhangs have a special way to do it, and it’s always effective.”

“Always?”

“In the history of our family,” Yixing nods, he can’t help but laugh at the way he sounds. “It’s like witchcraft or something, frankly. It doesn’t work for anyone but our family.”

***

He calls Junmyeon after the meeting, when he’s finally in his car, and puts on his bluetooth earpiece so he doesn’t get nauseous. His visit to Seoul is only two weeks away, he’s more and more excited, just like Junmyeon is every time they meet virtually.

They have met in real life — only twice, and Yixing can’t wait to get his hands on Junmyeon. He remembers being told that his baby is working out a lot more, and he’s seen the lines of the building abs in video calls. The thought of touching them sends a shiver down his spine. All other thoughts dissolve when Junmyeon picks up the call.

_“Hello, ge~”_

“Hi Junmyeonnie,” Yixing chuckles. “You seem like you’re having a good day.”

_“I am! I got my test scores for all of the subjects today, and I’ve done great in them!”_

Yixing pretends to be surprised. “Even Chinese? And Media Management? Really?”

 _“Of course!”_ Junmyeon whines adorably. _“I said all of the subjects, ge! Why don’t you trust me?”_

“I trust you,” Yixing stiffles his laughter poorly. “You’re just very easy to pick on, you know?”

 _“Why would you pick on me?”_ Junmyeon grumbles, but he ends up chuckling too. _“Anyway, I’m treating myself a piece of cake for it.”_

Yixing frowns. “That’s it? You did great in _all_ of your subjects, and you eat only a piece of cake?”

 _“Uh,”_ Junmyeon gulps audibly. _“I just got back from my college, I still don’t have any plans.”_

Yixing sighs. “Junmyeonnie, this is your second degree, how are you this bad at rewarding yourself?”

 _“I’m not bad at it!”_ Junmyeon tries to protest, but he ends up sighing too. Yixing knows he probably won’t do anything else either. He mutters, _“I just… have no idea what to do.”_

Yixing hums, doesn’t say anything in response. Junmyeon needs a second to admit it if he really isn’t taking care of himself, and Yixing understands it. He isn’t the best at admitting a lot of things too.

 _“I just really haven’t thought about it,”_ Junmyeon sighs. _“I’ve been too busy to think or prepare anything for it.”_

“I get it, you were too busy getting full scores in all the subjects.” Yixing nods absently. He grins to himself. “How about I give you a reward?”

 _“Ooh~ Gege, what are you thinking?”_ Junmyeon coos, his giggle is heard at a distance. _“Is it what I think it is?”_

Yixing is sure he doesn’t have too much work tonight. He checks his schedule on his phone anyway. “Are you free after 9 tonight, baby?”

_“What are you planning? Can I get a hint?”_

“You’ll have to wait and see, baby,” Yixing smirks. “The more patient you are, the better it will be.”

Junmyeon, of course, tries his best to fish for hints even after dropping the topic. They talk for a little more before Junmyeon has to get to his gym and Yixing reaches his office. When he gets down, in the parking lot of his office, his assistant gives him a smirk as she follows him.

“Girlfriend, sir?”

 _How is_ this _not unprofessional?_ Yixing thinks, refrains from rolling his eyes. He ignores the comment entirely. “I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t eavesdrop my private conversations.”

Her playful look turns into a frown immediately. “Yes. I’m sorry about that.”

Yixing can’t help but wonder how much she’d judge him if she knew that it was his sugar baby. 

***

A few hours before his flight, Junmyeon texts him excitedly, nonstop. Even when Yixing is checking-in, his phone keeps buzzing until he has to put it on silent. He gets looks from people near him, their eyebrows raised, a look of disapproval on their faces.

He ignores them easily, focusing on whatever he has to do. He replies once or twice in the waiting room, but most of his attention is on the newest emails he needs to reply to immediately. He tells Junmyeon about it, just so he won’t have whiny messages and Junmyeon feeling abandoned. His assistant isn’t coming with him _and_ she took the day off, so he can’t ask her to filter the updates and tell him what needs to be addressed immediately.

Without his assistant, without the structure of his office and the company building, everything feels more like a vacation even when he’s working.

Flying business has its benefits, obviously, but the one Yixing cherishes is not having to sweat buckets. He tells his assistant that he’ll be switching his phone off for the duration of the plane, and enjoys the air conditioner during a hot Thursday afternoon, in the middle of summer season. He’s used to the heat, used to the artificial air of aircon too, but it’s just better in this part. It’s definitely worth the money.

The flight isn’t too long, so Yixing hasn’t brought anything to read or work on the plane. He’s left with his thoughts for a while, and when he gets comfortable enough to think he’ll take a nap, he drifts to thinking about Junmyeon.

It definitely could be that the last text he checked was Junmyeon’s, and it was a super cheery _‘have a safe flight!’_ with ridiculous cheer-leading gifs of cartoons. He can’t help but think their relationship is, well, more similar to an actual romantic relationship instead of a sugar daddy/baby one.

For instance, both of them prefer Junmyeon using ‘ge’ instead of ‘daddy’ because it’s just easier, they don’t have to disclose the nature to every single person around them. (And frankly, he doesn’t know anyone who prefers ‘daddy’ but Junmyeon says there are a lot of them who like it better.) Yixing sends Junmyeon gifts — materialistic things, instead of money. Maybe if there was money involved, it’d feel less like a romantic relationship. But Junmyeon’s smile falls, and he becomes tense whenever Yixing talks about or even mentions sending money.

“So much thinking,” He mutters to himself, frowning. He pats his own head for fun. “I need to get some sleep.”

***

He half expects Junmyeon to be near the exit, waiting for him. But he isn’t. Which shouldn’t really surprise or upset him. Junmyeon’s classes don’t end until 7pm — he has university and separate language classes. He does find a familiar driver waiting for him. He’s the one who drives him around whenever he’s in South Korea, he’s Chinese too, and Yixing is comfortable with him. He doesn’t like speaking Korean in front of Koreans, he isn’t confident in his pronunciation.

They stop at his hotel, and after Yixing has taken a shower, he has to force himself to get to work. He sits on the ground because the bed is tempting him to sleep, and wearing pajamas is probably not helpful to his mind either. He opens every tab with a great effort.

He’s distracted by Junmyeon’s call two minutes into working. He glances at the laptop’s clock. It’s only 5:30pm. He connects to his headphones before answering. “Hi, Junmyeonnie.”

 _“Hey, ge!”_ Junmyeon sounds so enthusiastic, he huffs ever so lightly with a few words, as though he’s working out. _“I have to go to my language classes in a minute, but where are you staying? The hotel from before? Can I come see you after my classes?”_

“Are you jogging?”

_“No, no, I’m power-walking, I’ll be late otherwise.”_

Yixing grins. “It’s a different one this time. I think it’s too far from your place, sweetheart.”

 _“I can try,”_ Junmyeon’s voice drops, like he had a disappointing realization. _“Unless you don’t want me to come?”_

“I…” Yixing looks at the number of tabs and apps he has open, and all of the deadlines two days away. “I have a lot of work, baby. I’m sorry.”

 _“Oh.”_

He feels guilty just by hearing that syllable. Yixing frowns and stops writing his email to take his phone and hold it against his ear, disconnecting his headphones.

Junmyeon speaks before him, huffing more than before. It makes Yixing think he’s running now. _“Are you free tomorrow? Can we go on a date tomorrow?”_

“I’m free tomorrow, we can do that.” Yixing feels a little disappointed too. He feels compelled to add, “I wish you could come here right now, but I’m swamped with work, we really can’t do anything but just stay in the same room together.”

 _“I know, I know, that’s neither fun nor productive for both of us,”_ Junmyeon lets out a heavy sigh. _“I’m at my classes. I’ll talk to you later, ge!”_

A weird feeling settles in him when he ends the call with a ‘bye’ and tosses his phone away. They’ve had these kinds of problems before, and it always leaves Yixing thinking maybe he should’ve let Junmyeon come. But there are so many reasons not to, and it’s not just about productivity or getting to do something fun. 

This time, though, the weird feeling is more significant because of his thoughts on the airplane. Their relationship is more like a romantic one, and this feels like his _boyfriend_ is disappointed — not his sugar baby.

He brings his cursor to the shut down button on the screen, debates if he should just close all his work and ask Junmyeon to come over or not, then decides it’s better to finish the work instead of pulling an all-nighter later. Besides, he’s sure these feelings are because he’s at leisure here, unlike his regular days.

***

The first and only meeting of the day is successful. Yixing gets all of his presentations rights, and the fact that his team plugs in with video calls with excellent reasons to convince everyone in the meeting only helped. Flying all the way to Seoul just for this alone definitely impressed Ms. Boo and her brother, and showed them that Yixing is serious about this — that it’s a worthy deal _and_ an investment. 

He sighs in relief walking out of the building. They can start preparing to build another reputation here, expand the brand. He curses under his breath from the amount of relief and happiness he feels.

Yixing keeps his suit unbutton as he gets into the backseat of his car, his laptop bag tossed next to him. He doesn’t think twice about meeting Junmyeon, now that he’s free for the rest of the day.

 _Where are you right now?_ Yixing texts him, and sends Junmyeon’s address to the driver. The driver confirms with him once to start the engine. He’s weirdly excited to meet Junmyeon at his apartment, to surprise him with the three sneakers he just bought for him. And the bunny bag too. The bunny bag will definitely suit him, and he’ll like it.

Junmyeon replies a minute later. _House!! I’m working on my project~_ He doesn’t ask why, thankfully.

It takes forty minutes for them to pull over near Junmyeon’s apartment. It’s… not what he expected, if he’s being honest. It’s a super high profile apartment building, the kind Yixing lives in and knows only select people are allowed in. It needs to be bought, the apartment. They don’t rent out any of the apartments. He tries his best not to think anything of it. Maybe Junmyeon’s previous sugar daddies bought him this. Or maybe they let him use it. He’s a lovable person, it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s friends with his previous sugar daddies.

The watchmen stop them while going towards parking, then begin to apologize profusely for ‘insulting’ him. Yixing awkwardly tells them he isn’t offended that they’re doing their job, but they don’t listen. Yixing ushers the driver to go ahead, cringing at himself for his mediocre Korean. He doesn’t talk to anyone but Junmyeon in Korean, and he’s more confident in front of his phone, not in real life. The car stops near the elevator, Yixing gets out and tells the driver to take a two hour break.

The elevator is fancy, more than his office elevators, and the corridors are fancier. Yixing nervously strides to the door with 903, holding the bags with the sneakers and the bunny bag, and he can’t help but think he’s gotten the wrong house when he rings the bell.

Maybe someone not Junmyeon will open the door and tell him he’s got it wrong. He’s written and typed _Apt. 903_ a lot of times, and yet his stomach stirs uncomfortably. When the door clicks open, Yixing wants to run away for the first time in his whole life. He forces himself to stand his ground as the door swings inward.

It is Junmyeon, looking a little confused. “Yixing ge?”

Yixing wants to say something, but Junmyeon pulls him into a hug, the confusion replaced by a happy smile. “Come in!”

His Chinese is even better now that he’s in B2 level, more fluent and easy flowing. The inside of the apartment, of course, is even more fancy — the air is expensive too, and Yixing can’t stop himself from running into the bean bag Junmyeon has set up.

“Are you okay?” Junmyeon is right behind him, wrapping his arms around Yixing’s waist and pulling him closer. “What’s up, gege?”

He chuckles nervously in response, shoves the bags into Junmyeon’s hands. He feels pulled at the seams for no reason, his body twitching everywhere as though he’ll drop dead any minute now. Junmyeon’s smile is calming, but Yixing wants to move and stop thinking all together.

“Show me around.” He says, taking the bags once again and dropping them on the nearest couch. It’s a lot easier to stop his racing thoughts when Junmyeon tucks himself against Yixing, both arms around Yixing as he starts moving.

They go to the kitchen first. It’s spotless, the cabinets with clear doors having nothing in them. “Here’s the kitchen,” Junmyeon muses, presses an absent kiss on Yixing’s throat. “I barely use it. That’s why it’s so clean.”

“Cooking for yourself can be fun, Junmyeonnie,” Yixing grins, patting Junmyeon’s butt. “Even if you think it’s a waste of time.”

“Yeah, but why cook for myself when I can get someone else to cook for me.” Junmyeon chuckles. He swiftly shows all the places in the apartment, giddy in general as he talks about the funny things that happened in each room.

Yixing listens with equal enthusiasm, all the stories make him laugh so much his stomach hurts, but there’s a question looming above his head. He becomes a little grim every time the question comes to him, and if Junmyeon notices it, he doesn’t mention it. The apartment tour takes only two minutes, and then they’re back on the couch.

Junmyeon sits with his legs on Yixing’s lap, head on Yixing’s shoulder, and he cuddles in closer with Yixing’s arms around him. “You seem to have something on your mind.”

He could just say it’s work and continue holding Junmyeon. Junmyeon is built broader than Yixing, and yet he curls up into a tiny ball which makes Yixing want to take him back to China and spoil him even more.

“It’s nothing serious,” Yixing mutters, presses his lips against the crown on Junmyeon’s head. “I’m just taken aback by the apartment.”

He feels Junmyeon stiffen in his arms, his smile faltering just a little. “Why?”

“Because…” It’s big? Expensive? Not sugar baby-like? Why does it bother him in the first place? Yixing sighs. He caresses Junmyeon’s cheek, frowning. “I honestly don’t know, baby.”

“Is it a problem?” The question is very arrogant, but Junmyeon’s voice and his body language is anything but. He’s pouting without realising again, and Yixing is sure it isn’t a problem now.

“No,” He laughs, hugs his baby closer and kisses his cheek. “It’s not, baby, you don’t have to worry your pretty head so much.”

“I’m gonna get white hair sooner than normal at this rate,” Junmyeon huffs, sulking as he moves to sit on Yixing’s lap. “Don’t ever do that to me, ge!”

“You were the one worrying,” Yixing keeps his hands on Junmyeon’s waist, holding him closer, and mouths at his throat. “And even if you do get white hair, we’ll just get your hair coloured!”

He gets a moan in response. Junmyeon grinds his hips against Yixing’s leg. “Or, we could forget about my hair for a second and do something else.”

“You want to go out on a date?” Yixing pulls away with the most genuine, definitely not teasing Junmyeon look he could muster. “We have almost two hours together, though. I asked my driver to take a break.”

Junmyeon stares at him for a moment, displeased and frowning like Yixing snatched everything away from him. “Are you picking on me again?”

“Am I, sweetheart?” Yixing grins for a split second, then blinks innocently. “Why would I _ever_ do that to you?”

***

They decide to go visit Junmyeon’s favourite ice cream shop for their date. They take Junmyeon’s car since Yixing’s driver is still on his break, and Yixing drives while Junmyeon gives him the directions. Yixing really didn’t want to just sit in the passenger’s seat and look out of the window, and considering he’ll probably have to visit South Korea a lot more if (or when) they establish here, it’s better if he knows around at least a bit of the places.

It takes them only twenty minutes to reach there. It’s in a crowded street — a consumer street, with street food vendors, clothes shops, fast food restaurants without drive-ins, electronics shops, etc. The ice cream shop doesn’t turn out to be as crowded, and Junmyeon pulls him towards it excitedly.

“They have great flavours,” He beams, his grip on Yixing’s arm getting tighter because of excitement. “And the interior is so cute!”

“Slow down, baby,” Yixing frees his arm, rubbing over the place Junmyeon’s fingers gripped so tightly. He keeps up with Junmyeon’s quick steps easily. “We have a lot of time, there’s no need to rush.”

It doesn’t stop or make Junmyeon any slower. They stop in front of an average looking ice cream shop, which has a neon sign that reads: Doh’s Ice Cream. When they step in, the interior isn’t too hard to absorb. Everything looks cream coloured at first, but as Yixing looks around, they’re different shades of cream: the tables are darker than the chairs and the walls are lighter than the chairs. The counter behind which a single person is standing is also cream, matching the wall, and the person is wearing a cream apron.

The interior is actually good, despite how bland it seems at first. Yixing doesn’t feel out of place even while wearing a suit, even if it’s just the confectioner and them.

“Welcome, Junmyeon-ssi,” The confectioner says in Korean, beams at Junmyeon, then notices Yixing — his smile doesn’t falter even a bit. He looks the same age as Junmyeon, maybe a little younger, and his cheekbones are the most prominent thing on his face. “Welcome, sir! What can I get you?”

“Junmyeon’s the expert,” Yixing gestures, his Korean coming out awkwardly, but neither of them seem to mind. He chuckles when the confectioner nods. “I’ll have whatever he suggests.”

“I want the bubblegum flavour this time,” Junmyeon says to the confectioner, then without glancing at the menu, “A classic coffee for him, please.”

Yixing stands behind Junmyeon with his hands on Junmyeon’s waist, watching the confectioner scoop their orders up. He places his chin on Junmyeon’s shoulder, still looking at the big freezer filled with various flavours of ice creams.

“Why do I get a classic coffee?” He asks absently, switching back to Chinese. One of the tags in the ice cream tub says ‘Belgium Chocolate’ and that sounds more tasty than coffee.

“So you’ll know just how good the ice cream is,” Junmyeon turns his head and presses a kiss on Yixing’s cheek, then laughs. “I’ll get you addicted to this, so you’ll have to keep coming here.”

“Do you miss me that much?” Yixing holds Junmyeon closer. He feels a little bad, but he can’t help teasing. “Do you want to move to China with me, baby?”

“I would strongly consider it,” Junmyeon replies, equally teasing. “The sex is far better than video, for one.”

Yixing glances at the confectioner. He’s minding is business, filling another cone. There could be a possibility he knows Chinese, just like Junmyeon does. A lot of people don’t choose to reveal that they know a language someone is talking in until after — or they don’t reveal it at all.

“He’s my friend, and he doesn’t understand Chinese.” Junmyeon says when he notices Yixing looking. “He knows about this, if you’re worried. He won’t judge, he’s… he understands.”

The confectioner comes to them with two cones in one hand, balanced perfectly, and passes it to them. Junmyeon thanks him after taking the ice cream, and pushes it to Yixing’s hand.

Yixing frowns. “How will I pay like this—”

“It’s my treat,” Junmyeon fishes his wallet out of his back pocket. He passes a card to his friend, then grins at Yixing. “Don’t try to fight it, I need to make sure you _love_ this place.”

“I’ll love this place by eating the ice cream,” Yixing rolls his eyes. “Not by saving, what, 20-30 bucks on ice cream.”

“It’s expensive, ge, mind you.” Junmyeon pouts. “I wouldn’t bring _you_ to a cheap ice cream place.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asks, following Junmyeon to one of the tables. They sit near the wall, somewhere between the counter and the door. Junmyeon holds out the chair for him, and then sits in front of him.

“You look expensive even in casual clothes,” Junmyeon grins, takes his bubblegum ice cream and licks a little. “That’s all, I guess.”

Yixing thinks about it for a while, eating the ice cream in silence. It is a great one, the flavour and the texture of the ice cream. “You don’t make sense, baby.”

“I don’t know how else to explain it,” Junmyeon shrugs. “I, uh, think you need to have everything expensive? Or I’ll feel bad for it.”

“Now you’re just flat out trying to flatter me,” Yixing laughs with a mouthful of ice cream, one hand covering his mouth so nothing spews out. “You didn’t have to do it, but thank you.”

“But I’m not,” Junmyeon aruges, eyebrows furrowing, an automatic pout on his lips. “That’s what I really think. It’s not flattery!”

“Mhm, of course.” Yixing grins. Junmyeon continues to argue that he isn’t, and after getting only hums in reply, he slouches on his chair and huffs. Yixing reaches out and caresses his cheek. “I know what you mean, I was just pulling your leg.”

Junmyeon complains about his teasing until they’re out of the ice cream shop. Even while leaving, near the door, he smiles at his friend and thanks him once again, then frowns at Yixing. He holds Yixing’s arm while walking, but just grumbles in response to anything Yixing says. It’s honestly really adorable, Yixing doesn’t feel bad in the slightest.

“I need compensation,” Junmyeon huffs when they’re finally near the car. “For all the teasing you put me through. I’m pretty sure it’s bullying at this point.”

“Bullying with _love_ ,” Yixing chides. When they put on their seatbelts, Yixing puts a hand on Junmyeon’s thigh, squeezing lightly. “I do it for fun.”

“Yeah,” Junmyeon’s face softens. Then shyly glances at him. “I was just pushing the conversation in a different direction.”

“Oh I know,” Yixing grins, trails his fingertips closer to Junmyeon’s crotch, circles his forefinger a little, just to see Junmyeon shiver and blush. “We’re definitely going in that direction.”

***

They end up taking a nap after two rounds, only because neither of them seem to have anything else to do. Yixing does have a lot of work throughout the week, but nothing else for today. He wakes up when he feels his phone buzz near his head, under the pillow, and when he opens his eyes, Junmyeon is still fast asleep with his head on Yixing’s left arm.

He discards the thought of checking his phone in favour of wrapping his arms around Junmyeon’s waist, pulling him closer. Both of them are wearing a clean pair of boxers which Junmyeon had, and Yixing really likes the feeling of Junmyeon’s abs. He opens his phone after a couple of moments. It’s from his driver, asking him to call if he needs a ride, and that he’s going to buy something in the market. It’s already 3:57pm.

“Do you wanna wake up, Junmyeonnie?” He whispers, trying to pull his arms away so he can at least get up. But Junmyeon stirs and wiggles around to face him with a sleepy look. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Junmyeon throws his leg around Yixing’s waist, tucks himself under Yixing’s chin. “Don’t move, it’s super comfortable.”

“But I wanna get up,” Yixing pets Junmyeon’s head nonetheless. “My arm is numb, baby.”

Junmyeon holds Yixing’s arm which is under his head, circles it above his head, and squishes it between their bodies. “There.”

Yixing moves his arm to rest above Junmyeon’s head, and continues petting with his left hand, letting his right fall between their bodies. It _is_ comfortable, even with the blanket kicked down to their knees. Every bit of warmth Yixing has is coming from Junmyeon and the warm bed.

“Don’t you have projects?” Yixing says, caressing Junmyeon’s stomach absently.

“I do, but you feel nice,” Junmyeon pouts even when he’s half-asleep. He vaguely gestures at Yixing’s arm. “And you’re doing things with your hands. It’s making me sleepy again.”

It makes Yixing huff out a soft laugh. “Maybe I should stop.”

Junmyeon protests half-heartedly, too sleepy to make any real effort. Yixing hushes him with a couple of kisses on his head and lips, pulls the blanket upto Junmyeon’s shoulders and wiggles out of the bed. “I have a couple of things to check. I’ll be right back.”

He’s glad he stopped to get his laptop and work things from his car before going up with Junmyeon. He opens his laptop, keeping it on his lap, and checks his email on his phone while waiting for his laptop to load properly. He’s thought of getting a new laptop, but he’s too used to everything being in this smaller one — it’s almost 4 years old now and has gone through two repairs. Almost everything works, but the screen is starting to give up on him. Thankfully, nothing serious has occurred for Yixing to need to replace it.

He makes a trip to the kitchen to get a jug of water and a cup. It’s not a lot of work, just checking up on everything that’s in progress. He checks his schedule — there are two new meetings for the day after tomorrow, and his assistant has left a note of “just in case. tbc.” in both the meeting blocks.

“It’s nice to watch you work from here.” comes Junmyeon’s voice.

Yixing hums, rechecks everything once again, transports the emails required for future reference to a separate account before he looks at Junmyeon. He smiles and gestures to Junmyeon to come closer. He places the laptop on the short table in front of him, and watches Junmyeon walk over to him, and slowly lounge on the chair next to Yixing, eyes drooping even as he stares at Yixing.

“Hi there,” Yixing coos, running his fingers through Junmyeon’s hair. “I have the rest of the day off, if you have anything in mind.”

“You’re— but I— ugh,” Junmyeon groans, slouches further into the chair. “I have some assignments to work on.”

“I was thinking of checking out more commercial streets and a building anyway, you don’t have to feel guilty about your assignments.”

“I want you to stay.” Junmyeon pushes himself to sit up straight. 

“I’m here for six more days,” Yixing shrugs. “We can meet again.”

“Yes, but—” Junmyeon mutters something to himself, looking extremely conflicted by whatever is going in his mind. Yixing starts petting his head, occasionally combing his bed head, and looks at Junmyeon while waiting patiently for him to voice whatever’s in his head.

“I had a dinner date in mind,” Junmyeon says finally. That’s… is a dinner date really something to be so disgruntled about? “Can we still do that?”

“Of course.” Yixing gently shoves Junmyeon’s shoulder, grinning at him. “The rest of the day includes night time, silly.”

***

Yixing goes back to his hotel for a change of clothes. There’s no way he’s going on a dinner date wearing his crumpled suit from the morning. When he reaches the restaurant, he asks the driver to call it a day and that he’ll need him only from tomorrow morning. He nods and says, “Good night, sir.” Before driving away. There’s no teasing or a knowing smirk from him.

He likes his driver so much more than his assistant sometimes.

It’s a fancy restaurant. When Yixing walks in, he realizes it’s the place for “casual” business meetings, and definitely the kind where people look down upon you if you aren’t wearing a suit. Junmyeon is waiting at the table, wearing a beautiful deep purple, velvet suit with a butterfly brooch in the breast pocket.

Yixing feels a little under-dressed compared to him. He’s wearing a simple black suit, his hair is styled up, similar to Junmyeon’s — with gel and all. _That’s a lot of effort for a casual dinner date,_ Yixing thinks, but shakes the thought away to walk to Junmyeon and sit in front of him.

“You look handsome, baby.” He grins, noticing the lack of any kind of wine or champagne in the wine glass. There’s just water in them, and Junmyeon gives him the menu as soon as he sits down.

“You look gorgeous, ge,” Junmyeon beams. “The wine here is terrible, don’t order it.”

 _There were other people before me._ Yixing tells himself to suppress his surprise. He nods. “Alright.”

They read the menu in silence, looking up at each other only when the waiter comes to them. Yixing can’t help but smile when he catches Junmyeon’s eye, and Junmyeon grins right back at him. Yixing orders first: two mushroom soups, and a chicken salad because he’s sure that’s the only thing which will ever fill his stomach in a place like this.

Junmyeon orders sushi, and Yixing makes a face at him.

“What?” Junmyeon sulks, passing the menu to the waiter. “I like it!”

“I’m not judging you,” He cringes at the thought. “I just don’t have the taste for sushi. I’ve tried a lot of them but all of them were disappointing.”

“I think you’ll like this one,” Junmyeon says, then shrugs. “But it took me, what, four tries to actually like the sushi here. So maybe you won’t. Do you want to give it a try?”

“Maybe.” Yixing shrugs too. He looks at his glass for a beat, then thinks it’s best just to ask Junmyeon. “Do you come here often?”

It makes Junmyeon laugh. “That sounds like a pickup line.”

“Just a little,” Yixing chuckles, then looks as serious as he can manage. “Really, though?”

“For dates, yeah,” Junmyeon nods. He sits up straight, places his elbows on the table. “Just the romantic dates.”

Yixing stares at him for a moment, then raises his eyebrow. “Are you saying _this_ is a romantic date?”

“Maybe,” Junmyeon’s shoulders hunch, but he rolls them back quickly. He doesn’t smile at all, his face grim and serious. “I want it to be.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Yixing says honestly. “But there’s a lot we need to talk about.”

Just as he says that, the waiter comes with two bowls of steaming mushroom soup, placing the pepper and salt between them. Junmyeon grins, but his shoulders are still tense. “We can talk over soup.”

There’s a hint of awkwardness until they take the first sip of the soup. “I really like you, ge. A lot. Like, I like you so much I want you to be my boyfriend.”

Yixing stops mid-spoonful to look at Junmyeon, trying to see if he’s honest, and puts it down with a grin. Junmyeon visibly relaxes. It’s a little surprising (and maybe abrupt), but Yixing thinks he’s sure of himself. “You’re adorable, Junmyeonnie.”

It’s been over a year (a few months before joining the glucose guardian website) since he’s thought of dating someone — of being someone’s boyfriend, and a year is a good break from dating, he thinks. Plus, Junmyeon _is_ adorable. He’s cute, and hot, and an irresistible mix of a bratty little shit and a pliant sweetheart. And it’s very easy to him like — romantically or otherwise.

“I like you too,” Yixing says when Junmyeon opens his mouth. He quickly shuts it and Yixing can’t help but laugh. He could be wrong, but the last time he told someone he liked them, it was awkward and super uncomfortable for the both of them afterwards. The guy turned out to be straight, for one, and they were pretty good friends before it. But this is nice, a hundred times better than the last one. “This is really nice.”

Junmyeon’s face is pink, comparable to his velvet suit. He takes the glass and sips a little. “It is.”

Falling into a conversation is easy after that, they talk and talk until their soup is done and the next food comes out. Yixing tries the sushi, and grimaces at how disappointing this one also turned out to be. Junmyeon laughs at the face he makes, then demands to be fed a bite of the chicken salad. Everything seems to be going great, but a question pops up in Yixing’s head.

“Junmyeonnie,” He worries his bottom lip for a second, then asks, “What about the whole sugar daddy thing?”

Junmyeon leans back a little, seeming to not have considered the whole thing in the first place. “Oh, right.”

Yixing feels his heartrate rise for a minute, his breathing becoming shallow, but he composes himself. “Will you, uh, continue it?”

“No!” Junmyeon says hurriedly. “I won’t. I don’t _need_ it anyway. I won’t continue it.”

He takes another bite of the salad, just to have a pause between his questions. He chews it quickly and swallows, then asks, “Why did you sign up, then? I know not a lot of people need it. But I’m just curious.”

Junmyeon’s cheeks become pink. He fans his face for a second, laughing in an embarrassed manner. “It’s a little… dumb.”

“I’m pretty sure it isn’t, but go on.”

“I like getting presents,” Junmyeon says quietly. “We get them for festivals and stuff, obviously, but I like being bought things, even if I can easily buy them myself.”

Yixing stays quiet even though he has a lot of questions. He had an idea that some of the things Junmyeon wanted were pretty cheap, nothing too expensive, but he didn’t know he could buy everything he asked Yixing for. He wonders if this is considered as lying, then realizes Junmyeon doesn’t know about his work either. They just haven’t talked about Junmyeon’s background or Yixing’s work. Too caught up with teasing and sex and the distance between them.

“I know it seems silly, but it’s fun,” Junmyeon puts his chopsticks down to cup his face, looking at his almost empty plate instead of Yixing. “My parents already pay for the ridiculous amount of studying I want to do before joining the company, I didn’t want to bother them with those things. So I thought maybe that’d be a better place.”

Wait— company? _Joining_ the company? They haven’t talked about a lot of things.

“Which… company?” Yixing feels so awkward, asking questions like these. Junmyeon doesn’t seem to mind, though. He doesn’t look surprised by the question.

“It’s a stationery and cookware company,” Junmyeon laughs, rubs his nape with his left hand. “It started out as a cookware one, but we just branched out to stationery.”

Yixing’s mind flips through all the possible names of cookware and stationery companies he knows in Seoul, and essentially in South Korea, but he can’t remember their faces. A lot of them are Kim, like Junmyeon, but he’s pretty sure he could’ve pointed out the similarities if Junmyeon was the son of any one of them.

“It’s called ‘Dr. Jellyfish’.” Junmyeon says with a grin, noticing the way Yixing is thinking hard.

Oh. “That’s a pretty huge company. Didn’t it branch out to China, like, three years ago?”

“Yeah!” Junmyeon looks so proud of it. Yixing wants to reach over the table and kiss him.

Their conversation drops until they’ve paid and make their way to the parking, to Junmyeon’s car. They hold hands all while walking to the car, and anytime Junmyeon does something cute, Yixing doesn’t hesitate to cup his cheek and smack a kiss on his cheek, endlessly fond of his boyfriend. Junmyeon, on the other hand, just hides his face and whines about being in public.

Yixing is driving again, and when he’s putting his seat belt on, Junmyeon leans over the gears, hands cupping the sides of Yixing’s face, and kisses his lips. They’ve done this a ton of times before, but Yixing can’t help flushing bright pink when Junmyeon mutters, “You’re so cute, ge.”

He stutters on his words for some reason, and grabs Junmyeon’s collar carefully to pull him into another kiss. It’s so much more intimate than all the other times they’ve kissed, and Yixing wants to ditch the idea of going home and bring Junmyeon to the backseat.

“Your apartment is too far, suddenly,” Yixing says when they pull apart. “But the backseat might be unsanitary.”

“I’ll keep it clean for next time,” Junmyeon chuckles. He finally puts on his seat belt, then gestures to Yixing. “Start the engine, gege, my apartment _is_ far.”

***

“Is it too late for another round?” Yixing asks when Junmyeon steps out of the shower.

“I just took a shower,” Junmyeon pouts. He discards the damp towel, wearing nothing but his boxers and shorts, and straddles Yixing’s lap. “We can still make out though.”

They do for a bit, Yixing runs his hands all over Junmyeon without hesitation, pays a lot of attention to his abs shamelessly, and Junmyeon grinds against his crotch for fun, having his equal share of feeling and squeezing any part he can find with his eyes closed.

After a while, when they part to take deep breaths, Junmyeon tilts his head. “Oh, can I ask you about your company?”

“Mhm,” Yixing hums, presses another kiss on Junmyeon’s lovely jaw. “Ask away.”

Nothing feels different, aside from the new information they’ve gained from talking at the restaurant. He thinks it could be because the information hasn’t settled in his mind yet, but it also could be the fact that there isn’t much to change to begin with. He still plans on buying Junmyeon expensive gifts just for the heck of it, and maybe their conversations won’t be limited to Yixing’s vague definition of work and Junmyeon’s assignments.

“Video games,” Yixing says. “Sometimes play stations too, but mostly video games.”

“I’ve been asking for the wrong gifts,” Junmyeon laughs. And Yixing has to swallow another ‘you’re so cute’ because Junmyeon is cute, but he’s repeating everything at this point. He likes doting on him, though, so he just presses more kisses against Junmyeon’s throat instead of saying anything. “Ge, if I don’t get your video games now, I’ll write ‘The CEO doesn’t give gifts’ with one star on every review page I can find.”

“Sure, but don’t be surprised if you get ‘We’re trying not to go bankrupt because of you, sir’ as a response.”


End file.
